"The Doctrine of Total Depravity" [32], "Total Depravity" [31|32], "Utter Depravity", "Original Sin", "The Doctrine of Original Sin and Total Depravity", "The Bondage of The Will", "Man's Total Depravity", "The Fallen Estate of Man", "The Diabolical Disposition of Mankind", "The Total Apostasy of Mankind", "The Hopelessness of Mankind" or "Stone Cold Dead" [45] as opposed to "The Doctrine of Limited Depravity" [49], "The Freedom of the Will" or "Moral Neutrality"
Subtitle
"Born To Be Wild", "The Still-Born" or "The Will of Man according to Christ"
Keywords
arminianism, bondage, calvinism, depravity, disposition, hopelessness, inability, inclination, instinct, miserable, nature, pelagianism, predisposed, predisposition, salvation, synergism, born dead, born depraved, born sinful, fallen estate, moral neutrality, original sin, prevenient grace, spiritual death, total depravity, utter depravity
Definition
"The historically Christian Belief that as the consequence of the Fall of Man, every man, woman and child born into this world is enslaved to the service of sin and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose and follow God or to accept salvation as it is offered"
Proof-Texts and Cross-References
Gen. 1v3, v7, v26-28, v31, 2v16-17 [8], 3v1, v3, v6-8, v10, v12-13 [8], v17-19, v23, 5v3, 6v3, v5 [8], 8v21, 13v11, 15v14; Num. 23v19; Deut. 30v19, 32v33; Josh. 24v15; 1 Sam. 16v7; Job 14v4 [8], 15v14, 25v4-6; Ps. 14v1, 38v3, 49v8, v21, 51v5 [8], v7, 58v3-4, 78v39, 94v11; Pr. 4v23, 12v10, 15v28, 16v16, 20v9, 23v7; Eccl. 3v18, 7v20 [8], v29, 8v11, 9v3; Jer. 13v23, 17v9 [8]; Is. 26v12, 48v8, 59v2, 64v6; Jer. 13v23, 17v9; Lam. 3v39; Ezek. 18v4, 36v26; Mt. 3v7, 6v21-24, 7v16-18, 8v22, 12v33-37, 13v11-15, v19, 15v8, v14, v18-19 [8], 18v7, 23v16-19, v24-28, 25v41, 26v4; Mk. 4v11-13, 6v52, 7v6, v21-23, 8v17-18, 10v5, 11v23, 16v14; Lk. 4v18-19, 6v39, v43-45, 8v10, 9v45, v60, 10v42, 11v34, 12v34, 15v4-6, v24, v32, 16v13, 18v34, 22v2, 24v45; Jn. 1v5, v13, 2v17, v26, 3v5-6, v16, v19, v27, v37, 5v8, v14, v24, v40 [55], 6v29, v44 [51|55], v65, 7v7, 8v12, v31-47, 9v39-41, 10v10, v26-27, 11v43, 12v37-40, 13v2, 14v17, 15v5, v16, 16v6, v22, 20v31; Acts 2v26, 5v3-4, v33, 7v51, v54, 8v22, v37, 11v23, 14v16-17, 16v14, 17v26-27, 28v25-27; Rom. 1v20-21, v30, v33, 2v5, v12, v15, v19, 3v9-20 [8|56], v23 [8], 5v1, v6, v8, v10, v12-19 [8|56], v21, 6v11, v13, v17, v20 [8], v23, 7v5, v7-8, v10, v13-14, v17-18 [8], v20, v23-25 [8]; 8v6-8 [8|50], v20-23, 9v2, 10v8-10, 11v5-10, v15, v32, 15v21; 1 Cor. 2v14, 7v37, 14v25, 15v21-22 [8], v45 [8], v49 [8]; 2 Cor. 3v3, v5-6, v14-15, 4v3-4, 5v12, 9v7, 11v3 [8], v14; Gal. 1v3-5, 3v10, 4v8-9, 5v17 [8], v19; Eph. 1v18, 2v1-6 [8], v12, 4v18, v24, 5v8, v14, v19, 6v5-6; Phil. 1v22, v29, 2v13; Col. 1v9, v13, v21 [8], 2v2, v13, 3v10; 1 Thess. 1v3, v10 [8], 2v17; 2 Thess. 1v8-9; 1 Tim. 1v5, v7, 5v6; 2 Tim. 2v7, v22, v26, 3v5; Tit. 1v2, v15 [8], 3v3; Heb. 2v14-15 [8], 3v10, v12, 4v12, 5v9, 9v27, 10v22, 11v6, 12v2, 13v9; Js. 1v14-15 [8], v26, 3v2, v6; 1 Pt. 1v14, v22; 2 Pt. 1v4, 2v12, v14, v19; 1 Jn. 1v8 [8], 3v4, v14, v23, 5v3, v11, v19-20; Jude 1v10, v21; Rev. 3v17, 5v9, 12v9
Introduction
For more than 1500 years the reformed and liberal have engaged in a heated debate over the freedom of man's will.
The primary issues were first outlined in the early fifth century, when Augustine and Pelagius engaged each other on the subject.
Throughout medieval times the nature of man's freedom received a great deal of attention.
As they studied the Scriptures, Bernard and Anslem made significant contributions to the doctrine of the human will.
During the sixteenth century the freedom and/or bondage of the will was one of the chief issues dividing Protestants and Roman Catholics. To Martin Luther it was the key to his dispute with Rome.
During the seventeenth century the nature of man's freedom was at the heart of the debate between Arminians and Calvinists.
The conflict surfaced again in the eighteenth century, during the Great Awakening, until the nineteenth century, when Charles Finney's approach to revival led the institutional 'church' astray through a misunderstanding of the human will.
To this very day, the nature of man's will continues to bring intense disagreement between the Liberal and the Reformed, the Arminian and the Calvinist.
Most Pentecostal, Charismatic, Roman Catholic, and even would-be Reformed churches today, default to the Arminian view of Moral Neutrality.
Pelagians believe, that the will is neutral, since man's heart is morally neutral.
Armenians, on the other hand, historically acknowledged the human heart to be evil - suggesting, however, that Prevenient Grace has hung the will upon a 'sky hook' of neutrality from which it can swing either to receive or reject the Gospel.
Apart from a degree of difference and a variety of explanations, this is what they have in common: Arminians, Charismatics, Pelagians, Pentecostals, Synergists and Roman Catholics alike, by and large believe, that the will of man is entirely free to choose, with equal ease, good or evil - and, therefore, receive or reject Christ of it's own volition.
Some theologians have been quite lucid in their discussions concerning man's will, while others, like Jonathan Edwards, have soared into philosophy where many a believer seem to faint in the thin air of difficult logic and complex thought.
Yet, none so refreshingly clear as Christ Himself. His teaching on the subject is laced with vivid illustration, which will assist us in a better understanding.
Statements and Confessions
The Lutheran Augsburg Confession (1530)
In Article II, entitled 'Of Original Sin', we read,
"Also they teach that since the fall of Adam all men begotten in the natural way are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with concupiscence; and that this disease, or vice of origin, is truly sin, even now condemning and bringing eternal death upon those not born again through Baptism and the Holy Ghost. They condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, and who, to obscure the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits, argue that man can be justified before God by his own strength and reason." [2]
The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
In Chapter 6, entitled 'Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof', we read,
"Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof (Gen. 2v16-17), yet he did not long abide in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to subdue Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did willfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given to them, in eating the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3v12-13; 2 Cor. 11v3), which God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory. Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all (Rom. 3v23): all becoming dead in sin (Rom. 5v12), and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. (Tit. 1v15; Gen. 6v5; Jer. 17v9; Rom. 3v10-19) They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation (Rom. 5v12-19; 1 Cor. 15v21-22, 45, 49), being now conceived in sin (Ps. 51v5; Job 14v4), and by nature children of wrath (Ep. 2v3), the servants of sin, the subjects of death (Rom. 5v12, 6v20), and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free. (Heb. 2v14-15; 1 Thess. 1v10) From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil (Rom. 8v7; Col. 1v21), do proceed all actual transgressions. (Js. 1:14-15; Mt. 15v19) The corruption of nature, during this life, does remain in those that are regenerated (Rom. 7v18, 23; Eccles. 7v20; 1 John 1v8); and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and the first motions thereof, are truly and properly sin. (Rom. 7v23-25; Gal. 5v17)" [8]
Foundational Principles
THE BELIEF THAT THE WILL OF MAN SPRINGS FROM THE HEART OF MAN
Is this true?
YES.
Proverbs Chapter 23 Verse 7 confirms:
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." (Pr. 23v7, KJV)
Matthew Chapter 12 Verses 33 to 37 confirms:
Authorized King James Version"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Mt. 12v33-37, AKJV, p.427)
The Scriptures"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of adders! How are you able to speak what is good - being wicked? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. The good man brings forth what is good from the good treasures of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked from the wicked treasure. And I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be declared righteous, and by your words you shall be declared unrighteousness." (Mt. 12v33-37, TS, p.930)
We find in Matthew Chapter 12 three verbal windows to understanding. Each presents a familiar scene.
First, a tree that bears fruit (v33). Secondly, a man that brings treasures out of a chest (v35). Thirdly, a stream that flows from a fountain. The latter more obscure, than the previous two, but suggested by Christ's choice of words, "the overflow of the heart" (v34). The word "abundance" speaking of superfluity.
Matthew Chapter 15 Verses 18 to 19 confirms:
"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" (Mt. 15v18-19, KJV)
THE BELIEF THAT THE UNREGENERATE HEART OF MAN IS EVIL CONTINUALLY
In the words of Don Fortner:
"Yet, I know that no man by nature can or will come to Christ. Fallen man has neither the desire nor the ability to trust Christ (John 5:40; 6:44). It is not within the realm of man’s power, and it is not within the scope of his heart’s desire to come to Christ. Unless God does for a sinner what that sinner cannot and will not do for himself, he will perish. None can believe, except God himself create faith in them and cause them to trust his Son." [55]
Is this true?
YES.
Jeremiah Chapter 17 Verse 9 confirms:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17v9, AKJV)
In fact, the Bible tells us, that the unregenerate heart is as hard as stone (Ezek. 36v26).
THE BELIEF THAT CONSEQUENTLY THE FREE WILL OF MAN IS IN BONDAGE TO THEIR OWN DEPRAVITY
In the words of Don Fortner:
"Man's will is not free. It is bound by his own evil heart and nature. Left to himself, he will not and cannot come to Christ." [57]
In the words of Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609):
"In this [fallen] state, the free will of man towards the true good is not only wounded, infirm, bent, and weakened; but it is also imprisoned, destroyed, and lost. And its powers are not only debilitated and useless unless they be assisted by grace, but it has no powers whatever except such as are excited by Divine grace." [52]
Is this true?
YES.
THE BELIEF THAT ONLY GOD HIMSELF CAN LIBERATE AND RENEW THE HEART
Is this true?
YES.
Ezekiel Chapter 36 Verse 26 confirms:
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezek. 36v26, ESV)
Frequently Asked Questions
Are we condemned for Adam and Eve's sin?
Yes and No. Let me explain.
In short, we are born sinners as a result of Adam and Eve's sin.
- In medical terms, if your parents had Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), you will be born with it too.
The lost are not condemned for Adam and Eve's sin. They are condemned because of their own.
- In medical terms, if your parents had aids and you were born with it as a result, you will die of your own aids, regardless of the fact that it was originally theirs.
That is why the '1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith', Chapter 6, Paragraph 4, says that "FROM this original corruption, WHEREBY we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions." [8].
We are, therefore, NOT condemned for Adam and Eve's sin, but for our own, which we do as a result of being born depraved.
Would you say that all babies are evil?
Arminians, like Deborah of Discerning The World, often make an emotional appeal to their readers, by pointing out that Calvinists like "Paul Washer asserts that an 18 month old baby is totally and utterly evil" [40].
Yes and No. Let me explain.
The whole answer would pivot on your definition of "evil".
NO, we do NOT believe that babies are bloodthirsty little satanists, who would crawl from the cribs at night to kill you in your sleep, or skin the neighbor's cat.
YES, we DO believe that they are born depraved and inclined to sin.
In some sense, babies are born spiritually sick. As sad as that may be, it remains true.
Adherents
Clement I of Rome, +-30-99 AD [60] | Prof. Dr. Martin Luther (1483-1546) [31][46|47|48] | Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) | Prof. Dr. John Calvin (1509–1564) [31] | John Knox (1510–1572) | Theodore Beza (1519-1605) | Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) [52|53] | Charles Hodge (1797-1878) [31|33] | Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) [31|34] | Arthur W. Pink (1886–1952) [31|35] | Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema (1923-1989) [32] | Dr. Loraine Boettner (1901-1990) [31] | Prof. Dr. John Warwick Montgomery (1931-) | Walter J. Chantry (1938-) | R.C. Sproul (1939-) [31|36] | Gise J. Van Baren [32] | Prof. Herman Hanko [32] | Dr. John Piper (1946-) [31|37] | Randy Alcorn (1954-) [30] | Paul Washer (1961-) [41] | Dr. James White (1962-) [42] | Pastor Mark Driscoll (1970-) [26|43] | Don Fortner [55|56|57] | Douglas Wilson | Ken Silva [29] | Conrad Mbewe [27] | Mark Kielar | Doug Ledbetter [28] | Dr. M.P. Lambprecht | Mark Penrith [45] | Matt Slick [38] | EJ Hill (1977-) [54] | Zack Kueker
Consequently, forms of Total Depravity can be found within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [23], the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) [15], and the Reformed Baptists [8]; as well as Answers In Genesis [17], and Sovereign Grace Ministries [25].
Even Stoicism subscribed to "a sense of the innate depravity, or persistent evil, of humankind" [39].
Videos
IF you are reading this off-line, please visit us on-line to view the embedded videos.
Bibliography
1. The Doctrinal Statement of Franklin Road Baptist Church (11 March 2008)
2. Philipp Melanchthon. The 1530 Lutheran Augsburg Confession (11 March 2008)
3. John Knox. The 1560 Scots Confession (11 March 2008)
4. The 1561 Belgic Confession of Faith (11 March 2008)
5. The 1632 Dordrecht Confession (Holland, Dordrecht: Dutch Mennonite Conference; 12 March 2008)
6. The 1644 First London Baptist Confession of Faith (11 March 2008)
7. The 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith (11 March 2008) 8. EJ Hill. The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (Ejays; 24 November 2011) ✔
9. The 1742 Philadelphia Confession of Faith (The Philadelphia Association; 12 March 2008)
10. The 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession (12 March 2008)
11. The 1858 Southern Baptist Abstract of Principles (12 March 2008)
12. The 1919 Fraternal Address of Southern Baptists (12 March 2008)
13. The 1921 Garden City Mennonite Confession of Faith (12 March 2008)
14. The 1925 Baptist Faith and Message (12 March 2008)
15. The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message (Southern Baptist Convention; 12 March 2008)
16. The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message (12 March 2008)
17. The AiG Statement of Faith (Answers In Genesis; 12 March 2008)
18. Our Statement of Faith (Apologetics Index; 12 March 2008)
19. Statement of Fundamental Truths (The General Council of the Assemblies of God; 12 March 2008)
20. Statement of Faith (Campus Crusade for Christ; 12 March 2008)
21. Statement of Faith (Christian Apologetic and Research Ministry; 12 March 2008)
22. What We Believe (Colorado Christian University; 12 March 2008)
23. Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (12 March 2008)
24. Statement of Faith (National Association of Evangelicals; 12 March 2008)
25. Statement of Faith (Sovereign Grace Ministries; 12 March 2008)
26. VIDEO: Mark Driscoll. Total Depravity? (Mars Hill Church/YouTube; 30 April 2008)
27. VIDEO: Conrad Mbewe. Total Depravity of Man (YouTube; 3 May 2009)
28. Doug Ledbetter. Total Depravity (26 September 2010)
29. Ken Silva. Beliefs (Apprising Ministries; 28 September 2010)
30. Our Beliefs (Eternal Perspective Ministries; 11 October 2010)
31. Total depravity (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; 23 September 2010)
32. Herman Hanko, Homer Hoeksema and Gise J. Van Baren. The Five Points of Calvinism: Chapter 1: Total Depravity (Reformed Free Publishing Association; 1976)
33. Charles Hodge. Original Sin. Systematic Theology, Volume II, 2.8.13 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library; 23 September 2010)
34. Charles Spurgeon. Human Inability (The Spurgeon Archive; 7 March 1858) Sermon No. 182
35. Arthur Pink. The Total Depravity of Man (Providence Baptist Ministries; 24 May 2010)
36. R.C. Sproul. Human Depravity (Tyndale: Essential Truths Of The Christian Faith; 1992) p. 147-149. Extract by Monergism.
37. John Piper. Total Depravity (Monergism; 1998)
38. Matt Slick. What I believe (Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry; 14 October 2010)
39. Stoicism (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; 19 December 2010)
40. Deborah du Rand. Unconditional Election and Total Depravity are Gnostic Teachings (Discerning The World; 13 October 2010)
41. VIDEO: Paul Washer. All Men Are Born Evil (YouTube; 4 November 2007)
42. VIDEO: James White. What Does 'Total Depravity' Mean? (YouTube; 5 July 2008)
43. VIDEO: Mark Driscoll. 2 Myths: Murderers With Hearts Of Gold (YouTube; 25 April 2010)
44. David Starling. The very practical Doctrine of Total Depravity (The Briefing; 1 December 2008)
45. Mark Penrith. Stone Cold Dead (Because He Lives; 4 October 2009)
46. Luther's Bondage of the Will (The Reformed Reader; 6 January 2012)
47. On the Bondage of the Will (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; 6 January 2012)
48. Dr. Martin Luther. Bondage of the Will (Reformed Presbyterian Church; 6 January 2012)
49. Pelagianism (Wikipedia; 22 July 2012)
50. What is the Depravity of Man? (Apostate Arminian Ministries; 6 September 2012)
51. EJ Hill. John Chapter 6 Verse 44 (Hillside; 22 January 2013) ✔
52. Arminianism (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; 13 January 2011)
53. James Arminius. The Writings of James Arminius (three vols.), tr. James Nichols and William R. Bagnall (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1956), I:252 ✔
54. EJ Hill. A Response to 'Unconditional Election and Total Depravity are Gnostic Teachings', by Deborah Du Randt (Hillside; 11 July 2013) ✔
55. Don Fortner. Lazarus Raised — Irresistible Grace (DonFortner.com; 21 August 2013)
56. Don Fortner. The Doctrines of Grace (For the Love of His Truth; 11 June 2013)
57. Don Fortner. Is Your Pastor Lying to You? (For the Love of His Truth; 21 March 2013)
58. Jeremy Hull. John Calvin Started Calvinism (Sovereign Grace Apologetics; 2 April 2012)
59. Calvinism in the Early Church By the Early Church Fathers (A Puritan's Mind; 22 July 2014)
60. EJ Hill. Clement I of Rome, +-30-99 AD (Hillside; 20 August 2014)
For more information on Total Depravity, please visit Apostate Arminian Ministries, Depraved Wretch and the Total Depravity Archives at Monergism and YouTube; or simply run a SOHO Search.
Revisions
11-12.03.2008 / 23-26.09.2010 / 28.09.2010 / 11.10.2010 / 14.10.2010 / 19.12.2010 / 08.01.2011 / 27.01.2011 / 09.02.2011 / 02.03.2011 / 24.11.2011 / 06.01.2012 / 22.07.2012 / 06.09.2012 / 03.01.2012 / 22.01.2013 / 08.02.2013 / 11.07.2013 / 13.07.2013 / 21-22.08.213 / 26.11.2013 / 22.07.2014 / 20.08.2014